Banner Forest — Monday, Jan. 1, 2024

First time to this little gem that's an easy 20-minute drive from west Tacoma. We parked at the trailhead off Olalla Valley Road.  No bathroom at the trailhead, but there is a garbage can for poop bags.  We took the main trail up and around to the other parking lot, then headed down the smaller trails to our start point.  In all we racked up 3.19 miles. It is well signed, but we still got turned around in spots, so we were glad we had a screen shot of the map on our phone. The trails were in good shape with some mud in spots.  Saw quite a few people and dogs out; only a couple were off leash, so that was nice. Came across a few mountain bikers on the smaller trails, but everyone was courteous.  A great start to our hiking year!